Hyderabad: Telangana legislative assembly Monday unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Centre to confer Bharat Ratna on former PM Manmohan Singh.
Chief minister A Revanth Reddy moved the resolution, seeking the country’s highest civilian honour for the late PM. Members of all political parties, including Congress, BRS, BJP, AIMIM, and CPI, supported and adopted the resolution unanimously.
The former PM passed away on Dec 26 and was cremated with full state honours.
At a specially convened assembly session to express condolences over his demise and pay tributes to him, Revanth also sought the support of all the political parties for the installation of a statue of Singh in the Financial District in Hyderabad. All parties agreed to this.
Revanth sought suggestions from all parties on the place for the location of the statue. “We believe that it is pertinent to install Singh’s statue on Telangana soil,” he said.
“The people of Telangana will remain indebted to Singh as much as they are to Sonia Gandhi for the creation of Telangana state. It was during Singh’s tenure as PM that a separate Telangana state was formed. He is a soulmate of Telangana for his crucial role in its creation. He will remain in the hearts of the people of the state forever,” Revanth said.
Saying that the demise of the former PM is an irreparable loss for India, Revanth said he always focused on developing the country economically and socially.
“He took part in a protest in Delhi with us as an MP for the protection of democracy. A leader who served as the PM for 10 years sat with us in a dharna, which reflected his commitment to democracy and simplicity. It is an event that we will remember for the rest of our lives,” Revanth said.
Cutting across party lines, the special session paid tributes to the former PM and acknowledged his contributions to the nation’s progress and formation of Telangana state.
BRS MLA KT Rama Rao, while fully supporting Bharat Ratna and installation of the statue of Manmohan Singh, said the state govt should also pass a resolution and send it to the Centre to construct a memorial for Telugu ‘bidda’ and former PM the late PV Narasimha Rao in Delhi.
BJP floor leader Alleti Maheshwar Reddy demanded that a statue of PV be installed in the city in addition to Singh’s.
AIMIM member Zulfeqar Ali supported Bharat Ratna for Singh and termed him as a PM who worked for the welfare of all sections, including minorities.
